short runs of quick heart beat

[Prosecco1997]

been getting , runs of quick short heart beats 7 quick ones in a row then 5 again this morning, don’t know if to increase the beta blocker or the flecinide

[BenHall1]

I think it would depend very much on the conversation you would have had with your medical team when this medication when it was originally prescribed.

[Buffafly]

How did you know? I wouldn’t worry unless it went on for several minutes and I certainly wouldn’t mess with your meds.

[Prosecco1997 in reply to Buffafly]

I felt it , been told I can increase bisop to 10 mg , but trying not to increase but think I’m going to have to

[Cliff_G]

I presume these are increasingly frequent? I wouldn't change dosage of either of those two meds without a doctor's say so, particularly the Flecainide.

Try slow deep breathing, several times a day for 5 minutes at a go, see what the long term effect is. Also see if you can correlate the runs with anything.

I used to get these a lot, not usually anything to worry about, other than monitoring frequency.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

You may need a whole new look at your meds.

BBs even by incresing did little for my rapid heart rate Day. 186 on Metoprolol with pauses at night on my normal 47bpm avge. Bisoprolol down to 156 still did not solve it.

New privste interested H/Specialist introduced CCB. Diltiazem which is safer anti-arrhymthmic med. 1/2 dose brought it down 51. Too much. Settled ..

AM Diltiazem 120mg CD now in 60s Day 47bpm avg PM No pauses.

PM Bisoprolol 2.5mg controlling my v. high Systolic Level and high 90 Diastolic Level.

Flec... can cause spikes sometimes and needs to be monitored. Never more I think. It's a risky med.

Try to relax and talk to your H/Specialist. Your Dr will put meds up without truly knowing what it will do.

The H/Specialist may order a 24hr Heart Monitor. They are great. I had 3 in 2021 whilst sorting out my meds. And they prove important things.

cherio JOY. 75. (NZ)

[Ppiman]

It could be flecainide which can cause this, I have read. I would be onto my GP to find out what to do.

There’s a home ECG that you can wear for 24-hours by Wellue. I found it useful as I was getting similar (without flecainide). It led my doctor to send me back to the specialist for more tests, but all was well. In fact, I was then deemed suitable for flecainide, but I only took one in the end!

Steve

[AAJJTt]

Hi, I have PAF and have been treated with Flecainide for 5+ years, In general, this has been a good option for me, no sustained episodes for 4+ years with periods of ectopic beats. Good QOL.

Over the years, I too have had the odd short run of fast HR, literally 5-6 beats. My RHR is pretty low, and they usually catch me working at my desk. It startles me but a few deep breaths or some movement and they are gone. I mentioned it to my cardiologist a few times and he never seems to be concerned, so I don’t bother either.

From the beginning of year, I have been trying to titrate the Flecainide to mixed results. Just recently, I have had a few longer runs of fast HR. For instance, I was on a bike ride and stopped to get a drink. It was all normal HR response, dropping away at rest. I bent over to pick something up and off it went, HR of 209bpm but it felt regular. It surprised me, felt ok, tried some deep breathing and it stopped after 9 mins.

I spoke with my cardiologist about it. He suspects it maybe SVT and perhaps short bursts of SVT have been triggering AF all along; just never really detected before. He also mentioned about the pro-arrhythmic properties of Flecainide too. The conclusion is I have stop the Flecainide, wean off over a couple of months and he is arranging for me to have an implantable loop recorder to get more data before deciding a course of action.

The presentation of this condition is so diverse and we all have our own idiosyncrasies. As the other posters have mentioned, it is a conversation to be had with your medical team, certainly before altering medication.